The Other
by ElsaInBlue
Summary: Workaholic Elsa is pursued by a man that she can't help but falling for. He's perfect in every way... except for that he's married. Affair!Helsa.
1. One of Them

_This is a collection of short chapters (about 1,000 words each) that should update weekly. M for "adult" content (lots-o-smut). Just a reminder that this is a drama._

 _-FS13-_

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Elsa looks about the room nervously, surveying the numerous sets of eyes curiously fixed on her as she struggles to continue with her introduction. The others don't know her yet and probably think she's just very quiet or shy. What they don't know is that Elsa is the kind of woman who takes her time to carefully select her words; never rushing into anything, especially private information about herself. Something like this has to be given a great deal of thought and she won't allow her eloquence to abandon her, even if what she has to say would be deemed deplorable by anyone else. She knows the circle of women in the room are one of her and takes relief in knowing they're not judging her; simply waiting to hear her story, or as much of it that has unfolded.

When the fluttering of nerves settle enough to hear her own thoughts again, Elsa steadies her breath and continues with as much grace as one can under these circumstances.

"I'm here tonight because…" Pausing to toy with her hands because she _still_ doesn't know quite how to word it. Her thoughts draw inward again and she can picture his face so perfectly, the corner of her lips curling as the revived fluttering in her stomach shifts from anxious to something just shy of giddy. She's amazed at how he continues to have this affect on her. "I'm in love with a man- an _incredible_ man- who makes me feel like I've never felt before." And she means with all of her heart, they can see the sincerity reflecting in her mirthful expression.

Elsa sits and thinks on that, about how he can so easily peel her out of her boardroom suit and turn her into a quivering mess in hardly any time at all. And yet he still feels like her best friend. He understands her like no one else ever has and she can't even recall a time when she couldn't confide her deepest thoughts to him. Having someone so special makes her smile all the more, now beaming like a lantern as she stares at her hands folded primly in her lap. It's not just the sex, she's certain of that, and the others seem to get that from her solemn tone. Elsa wouldn't risk so much for something so meaningless as casual sex.

"He's extremely intelligent. Very kind. Sometimes has a bit of an ego," laughing to herself through her nose at all the times they've butted heads before she proceeds. "He's handsome, a great listener," continuing to list off his best attributes, until the cheerfulness on her face freezes, lips slowly dipping into a small frown as the truth fizzles to the top of her list. "... and he's married." Once she says it, the pang of sadness cuts in an all too familiar way, but it's the statement they all knew was coming. She wouldn't be there otherwise.

The crushing truth yanks Elsa back into reality and everyone can see the shift in her body language, encompassing a seriousness that slashes through her once joyful visage.

"I came here tonight because I'm a logical person. I'm the last woman to do something like this. A part of me knows that what I'm doing is wrong. I know I shouldn't be this happy with him or this accepting of such a relationship. And I think I need help." The bluest eyes glance up at the only woman in the room who hasn't had an affair, and she can see the bewilderment welling up in those vibrant orbs.

"What's his name?" The therapist asks, worry quickly splashing across Elsa's tensing features. "Remember, everything here is confidential. I only ask because using his name will help you stay more connected to your experience."

And help _is_ exactly what Elsa came for.

"Hans. His name is Hans," she replies reluctantly but the name brings a smile to her lips and colors her cheeks nonetheless.

"And how did you first meet Hans? Take us back to where this all started."

Elsa's mind drifts back in time to that fateful day Hans came into her life and flipped it upside down the second he shook her hand.

"I met him at my office…"

A sense of danger slithers under Elsa's skin as she speaks, because she hasn't told a single soul about her indiscretions. It's a secret she carries, every torrid moment and promise made has only been to her and Hans' privy.

"I know somewhere in my mind that I shouldn't be doing this. That I shouldn't be involved with- _sleeping_ with- a married man. I do feel guilty sometimes. I think about _her_ ," never saying his wife's name because doesn't even know it. She doesn't _want_ to know it and Hans has made it a point to never say it. "I feel incredibly guilty but it's not enough to stop myself."

The reactions from the group members are mixed. Most of them know exactly what it's like to be in Elsa's situation, blinded by love and desperately holding on to the beautiful promises whispered into her ear every time he's with her. But this is the first woman they've had join them _before_ the devastating end of a relation that began with lies and deceit.

Their in shock because it's like they're watching Elsa stand on the railroad tracks and she doesn't even hear nor see the train hurtling towards her at a hundred miles an hour. It doesn't matter how wonderful this man is or how much he says he loves her. The chance of Elsa having a happy ending is basically slim to nil. The heartbreaking part is that they know they can't convince her of her fate. They know she won't listen. All they can do it watch and bare witness to the train wreck that is about to become her life. And in the end, they'll be there for her. Elsa doesn't know the alienation she'll face if she tells anyone about the affair, but every single woman in the room silently promises to catch her when she eventually falls.

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	2. It Begins

It's late one night as Hans and Elsa sit around the table in her office trying to get the final details of this project they've been working on for the past five months in line before they set a groundbreaking date.

In the beginning, a smile and a handshake was all it took for Elsa to crush hard on Hans. But in the instant she saw the platinum band on his left hand, she buried every last glorious thought of anything happening between them. She remembered thinking how lucky his wife must be and how much lonelier she felt in that moment as the embarked on what could only be a professional relationship.

She didn't know it at the time but Hans was equally as smitten with her. Elsa was beautiful but demurely sweet with a razor sharp tact when it came to business. Ever the modern CEO, Elsa's attention to detail and depth of knowledge was as every bit as arousing as the feminine cut of her leg exposing dresses. They were even more lost to each other after Hans learned just how much fun Elsa was to be around, and she in turn fostered a sympathy for how terribly unhappy he was in his marriage of convenience. Business lunches, boring meetings, and late nights buried in paperwork became the stage on which their business relationship blossomed into a meaningful friendship.

Scraps from an ordered-in dinner sit amongst the clutter of legal papers and blueprints as a real life game of monopoly plays out across the table. This is the first real estate development deal Elsa has worked with Hans' company on but she sees a profitable future with him; business wise if nothing else. He's brilliant. No wonder why he's poised to take over in the next few years.

The two are wearily tired but also seem to thrive off of each other as the hours press on. Their work ethic is so perfectly matched that neither one has to break their stride. It's a well-crafted orchestration of persistence, talent, and ability to understand where the other is coming from with hardly any explanation. The late hour is taxing on them but they'd just about wrapped up around eleven.

Even though they're supposed to be working, and they are, over the past several months they've formed a sort of comradery between them. Inside jokes and the predictability of each other's interactions have already been established long ago. Over the course of the evening, Hans has made Elsa laugh countless times, making her giggle so hard that she had to cover her face with the budget spreadsheet as she gasped for air.

It dawned on Elsa a few weeks ago that a lot of people had work husbands and work wives. Hans was probably her work husband. That was a socially acceptable relationship, and so she convinced herself that what happened between them was playful office antics. Nobody was getting hurt.

All but a last bit of housekeeping on the deal is left and Hans is already congratulating her on completing the initial stages of this project. The thought that their time together will be drastically cut short after this night doesn't ache as much as Hans knows he could allow it to, too mesmerized by how Elsa's beautiful blue eyes shift back and forth under long fanning lashes as she reads over a contract from the construction company. She's gorgeous but he's known that from day one. He's bewitched by the timbre of her delicate voice and the scandalous way her hips sway and her ass snaps when she struts about the office in those towering heels of hers. He's not going to be able to let her go and, tragically, she knows it too.

Elsa starts filing the documents away in her briefcase for tomorrow's meeting until the table is nearly clear. When she's done, Hans commends her on a job well done and she thanks him when an easy and genuine smile that has him grinding his teeth together as he tries to restrain his impulses. All professional traces of Elsa had been slipping away as the night went on but now she's completely herself as Hans looks at her with nothing but unbridled affection gleaming in his eyes.

A shared smile between them feels too good to be anything short of heaven. And when Hans cautiously leans in from his chair and puts his hand on Elsa's exposed knee, thumb grazing the blizzard-white skin under the hem of her tailored skirt, she knows she's not the only one who's been suppressing romantic feelings during these long work sessions. She doesn't flinch away and is clearly affected by the welcomed touch, in a positive way because Hans can see her breathing has picked up a little and she's blushing wildly with a look of excited surprise.

There's a spark of something thrilling in air. Hans doesn't wait a moment more to figure it out and moves further towards Elsa until his lips capture hers in a gentle kiss. It's so soft and loving that Elsa instantly confirms that there was never anything friendly between them at all. Harmless flirtation has brought them to a dangerous crossroads and neither one is about to stop what's happening.

Memory escapes Elsa as to the last time a kiss felt so inexplicably good. Dating hasn't really been her thing, since she's married to her job. This man not only seems to be cut from the same cloth as her but he understands her like know one else has. That stinging sense of loneliness that defines so much of her life is melting away from the fervent heat of lips alone. The connection is strong enough to abate any thoughts of consequence, and she can't remember wanting something forbidden so desperately before.

The kiss ends as gently as it began, Hans moving his lips a fraction away so they're almost touching Elsa's, but he's waiting for something. Permission from her, she suspects, that this is okay. It was at that moment that everything took a drastic turn for Elsa, when friendship was obliterated and her addiction to him began. She always comes back to this kiss as the point of no return, not even when they first had sex.

Hesitation is thrown out the window as Elsa hastily returns her lips to Hans' and silently asks for more. There's a small moan from her, pent up sexual frustration releasing like a water through a busted hydrant, before his hands are framing her angelic face and holding it to his as he tastes the sweetness of her mouth once again.

It's wrong and they both know it, but it's too easy to surrender once their secret desires escape out into the open. He wants her and she knows it. This night not only marks the beginning of their relationship, but consecrates the moment that she became the other woman.

There was an opportunity to change her fate. A fleeting moment before their kiss when she could have stopped him. But when their lips meet again and she can feel five months worth of anticipation guzzling up between them, Elsa knows she wouldn't have stopped him for anything.

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 _So if this feels vague, it's supposed to. Each chapter is like a puzzle peice and, eventually, it will all make sense._


End file.
